Spraying machine



June 24, 1947. G. w. DAUGHERTY SPRAYING MACHINE Filed Nov. 28, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR ATTORNEY June 24, 1947. I

G. W. DAUGHERTY SPRAYING MACHINE is Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 28, 1944 ATTORNEY June 1947, G. w. DAUGHERTY SPRAYING MACHINE Filed Nov. 28, 1944 s Sheets-Sheet s w @W QY ATTO R N EY Patented June "2 4,' 1947? SPRAYING MACHINE George W. Daugherty, Orlando, Fla.

Application November 28, 1944, Serial No. 565,438

This invention relates to a spraying machine of the type shown and claimed in my patents No. 2,220,082 issued on November 5, 1940, and No 2,331,107 issued October 5, 1943.- More particularly, this invention is animprovement on the v7 Claims. (Cl. 261-30) type of spraying machine set forth in my Patent No. 2,358,318, issued September 19, 1944, and in my patent application, Serial No. 545,975, filed on July 21, 1944.

It may be well at this point to indicate that while I shall describe my invention as" specifically adapted for the machine of mylast-mentioned patent and my pending application, it is' suitable for use in other assemblies operating under the principles of the inventions disclosed in my earlier patents supra. I 1

In my Patent No. 2,358,318, I illustrate and claim a spraying and dusting machine in which a blast of air is generated'through atunnel, and picks up spraying and dusting material to be deposited by the blast of air on foliage. The blast of air is'directed upwardly, and in the particular machine of the patent, is further'directed outwardly to one side of the machine. This direction is imparted to the blast of air by a series of deflectors and'elevator vanes that are positioned at that end of the tunnel through which the blast of 'air issues. I

While the machine ofthe said Patent No. 2,358,318 is extremely eflicient, I have found that I can greatly increase its efficiency and the control of the movement of' the blast of air, byproviding a series of guide fins placed in a position v to accept the air blast as it leaves the deflectors and elevator vanes. 'It is the utilization of these guide fins that forms the subject of this appli use also in the particular combination that is described and claimed in my application No. 545,975, and there also they lie in a position to accept the air blast from the elevator vanes and deflectors for imparting additional direction thereto.

My invention is of such nature that it is best understood after a detailed description thereof is studied, and I shall therefore not here further discussgenerally the particular features of my invention that form the subject matter of the appended claims. It will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art that the guide fins of my invention may take various forms, depending on the spraying problem that must be solved, and that they may be used and positioned other than in the manner by me specifically set forth, all as will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, the-refore, important that my invention be not construed as limited to the mechanical means by me herein set forth.

Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 1 is a general horizontal view of the machine illustrated thereto. Fig. 2 is a general perspective view of and described in my Patent No. 2,358,318 and shows the guide fins of my invention applied I of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the rear portion of the machine of Fig. 1, and a best illustrating the positioning of my guide fins.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and more especially Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5, the air tunnel through which the air blast is generated is designated generally by reference numeral l0 and is part of a large apparatus mounted on a chassis H equipped with wheels I2. The entire machine is, of course, adapted to be pulled through an orchard or a grove by a tractor or other vehicle as is fully set' forth in my earlier patents. An internal combustion engine I4 is used for rotating a propeller I5 for generating a blast of air that moves through the open end of the tunnel 10 in a direction determined by the deflectors and elevator vanes that I have already discussed generally. At this point it will be well to indicate that for a full and clear description of the construction of the deflectors and vanes, reference should be had to my Patent No. 2,358,318.

For an understanding of the invention of this application, it is merely necessary to know that the deflectors, designated by reference numeral l9, are curved and preferably fixed in a position to direct the air blast upwardly and to one side of the machine in the general direction of the arrow A in Fig. 3. The elevator vanes are designated by reference numeral 23 and are positioned preferably at right angles to the deflectors l9.

As is set forth in my Patent No. 2,358,318, the position and curvature of the elevator vanes 23 is such that the vanes tend to direct the air towards that side of the machine opposite the side 3 toward which the deflectors I9 direct the air blast. However, in actual practice, the elevator vanes are extremely effective in directing the air blast upwardly while the general direction of movement remains toward the side of the machine toward which the blast of air is first directed by the deflectors I 9.

At the end of the tunnel l0, and beyond the deflectors I9 and elevator vanes 23, I secure what I term an end limit plate 4|. This end plate may be fixed relatively to the end of the tunnel by any one of several means as set forth in my Patent No. 2,358,318, the end plate being so positioned as to lie at an angle relatively to the tunnel for defining an upwardly angularly graduated opening between the. end plate and the tunnel. Lying in this opening are the elevator vanes 23, all of which are cut away at their edges so as to allow for the particular mounting of the end limit plate 4|. It is indicated once again that all this structure is well set forth in my earlier patent and that the reference numerals herein utilized are the same numerals as used for the particular parts in the patent.

For feeding spraying material into a position for acceptance by the blast of air, I utilize a bank of pipes 46 positioned horizontally and extending between the end limit plate 4| and the end of the tunnel Ill. The pipes 46 are equipped with a large number of nozzles 45 through which the spraying material issues tobe picked up by the blast of air and carried toward the tree being sprayed.

I have found that while the mechanism so far described will yield excellent results, those results may be greatly improved by the utilization of guide fins. As is best illustrated in Fig. 5, I prefer to use a series of five guide fins, each fin being designated by reference numeral 41. The fins are preferably quite narrow so that they do not extend into position to interfere with the effective operation of the elevator fins 23 or the deflectors I9, it being understood that wider fins might obstruct seriously the movement of the blast of air. It is important to understand that direction must be imparted to the blast of air without interfering unduly with the velocity of movement of the blast of air.

Each of the guide fins 41, is not only narrow, but is curved in cross-section as is best seen from a study of Figs. 3 and 4 whereby to better impart direction to the blast of air upwardly and .to one side of the machine. The guide fin are,

of course, preferably arranged. in substantially parallel relationship to one another and are pref erably shaped so that the outer edges 48 are substantially parallel to the outer periphery of the tunnel l0. In using the term parallel in the specification and claims to describe the guide fins, applicant means that the guide fins lie in substantially parallel planes and with corresponding portions of their surfaces positioned in the same general relation to the machine. Thus, the outer edges 48 of the guide fins all correspond in position to the outer peripheral edge of the tunnel and conform in shape to the said peripheral edge of the tunnel. The use of the term parallel is intended to describe this relationship succinctly, since actually the fins and tunnel periphery are parallel in arrangement. Moreover, the outer edges 48 are preferably positioned to lie near the surface extension of the tunnel l0. However, variations of the positioning of the fins may be arranged to yield excellent results.

It should be understood that the basis of my-invention resides in the utilization of these fins for accepting the blast of air from the deflectors and elevator vanes whereby to aid those vanes and deflectors in moving the air upwardly and to a side of the machine as initially determined by the positioning of the deflectors and vanes.

It is, of course, not important as to just what means are utilized for securing the vanes in position. Preferably, I use a series of straps 49 and rods 50 for the purpose, the rods 50 extending between the end limit plate 4| and the end of the tunnel I0, all as will be quite apparent.

In Fig. 2 I illustrate the machine forming the disclosure of my application No. 545.975 already referred to. In the said application, there is utlized a tunnel 60 through which a blast of air is generated by multiple upper and lower propellers rather than the single propeller of the machin of Fig. 1. Secured relatively to the end of the tunnel is an assembly of deflectors, vanes and fluid-carrying pipes of practically the same construction as was described with reference to Fig. 1, except that the fluidcarrying pipes are vertically positioned. This assembly is designated by the letter D in Fig. 2. It is not thought necessary to describe in detail the particular structure since it is fully and adequately illustrated in my patent application.

It i merely necessary to understand, with reference to the machine of Fig. 2, that there is positioned between the end plate 4|a of that machine and the tunnel 60, a series of fins 41a that are the same in construction and function as the fins 41 used in the modification of Fig. 1. Naturally, fins 41a are shaped to conform to the periphery of tunnel 60, as is taught by my first modification. Thus, the fin structure of Fig. 1 is usable with any form of tunnel and any form of vane and deflector arrangement, as will now be quite apparent. It will be well to indicate that because of the utilization of the vertical pipes 5| carrying the spraying material, rather than the arrangement of horizontal pipes 46 of Fig. l, the fins 41a are positioned between the pipes 5| rather than being grouped together as in Fig. 1.

I believe that the nature of my invention and the contribution made thereby will now be apparent to those skilled in the art.

I now claim:

1. In a machine of the class described, an air tunnel, means whereby a blast of air is generated through said air tunnel for forming a fine fog of spraying material, air guiding means secured at that end of the tunnel through which the blast of air issues and with parts thereof in spaced relation to the end of the tunnel, and a series of air guiding fins formed substantially parallel to the periphery of the air tunnel and positioned in parallel longitudinally spaced relation to the end of the tunnel for receiving the air blast from said air guiding means whereby to impart further direction thereto.

2. In a machine of the class described, an air tunnel, means whereby a blast of air is generated through said air tunnel for forming a fine fog of spraying material, air guiding means secured at that end of the tunnel through which the blast of air issues and with parts thereof in spaced relation to the end of the tunnel, and a series of air guiding fins positioned in parallel longitudinally spacedrelation at the end of the tunnel and laterally offset from said air guiding means, said fins being curved in cross section to direct the air blast, and shaped to conform substantially to the shape of said tunnel.

3. In a machine of the class described; an air tunnel, means whereby a blast of air is generated through said air tunnel for forming a fine fog of spraying material, air guiding mean secured at that end of the tunnel through which the blast of air issues and with parts thereof in spaced'relation to the end of the tunnel, and a series of narrow air guiding fins of curved section shaped substantially parallel to the periphery of the air tunnel and positioned in parallel longitudinally spaced relation to the end of the tunnel and offset from said air guiding means for receiving the air blast from said air guiding means whereby to impart further direction thereto.

4. In a machine of the class described, an air tunnel, means whereby a blast of air is generated through said air tunnel for forming a fine fog of spraying material, air guiding means secured at that end of the tunnel through which the blast of air issues and formed to direct the air blast upwardly and to one side of said air tunnel, a series of narrow parallel fins positioned in longitudinally spaced relation at the end of the tunnel and substantially at the peripheral longitudinal extension thereof whereby to receive the air blast as directed by said air guiding means, said fins being of curved transverse section so as to impart additional direction to said air blast.

5. In a-machine of the class described, an air tunnel, means whereby a blast of air is generated through said air tunnel for forming a fine fog of spraying material, an end limit plate secured with a portion of its periphery juxtaposed to the end of the tunnel through which the blast of air issues and with its surface at such an angle whereby to form with the open end of the tunnel an-angularly graduated opening for the flow of the air blast, airguide means secured crosswise relatively to the end ofthe tunnel forwardly of said end limit plate in a position to direct the air-blast upwardly and angularly through said graduated opening, and, a series of fins positioned in longitudinally spaced relation across said opening and substantially at the peripheral longitudinal extension of said air tunnel for imparting additional direction to said air blast.

5. In a machine of the class described, an air tunnel, means whereby a blast of air is generated through said air tunnel for forming a fine fog of a portion of its periphery juxtaposed to the end of the tunnel through which the blast of air issues and with its surface at such an angle whereby to form with the open end of the tunnel an ,angularly graduated opening for the flow of the air blast, a series of pipes extending between the said end plate and the end of the tunnel for feeding spraying material into said air blast, and a series of air guiding fins positioned transversely of the pipes and secured at their peripheral edges to said pipes and in longitudinally spaced relation across said opening and substantially at the peripheral longitudinal extension of said air tunnel for imparting additional direction to said air blast.

7. In a machine of the class described, an air tunnel, means whereby a blast of air is generated through said air tunnel for forming a fine fog of spraying material, an end limit plate secured with a portion of its periphery juxtaposed to the end of the tunnel through which the blast of air issues and with its surface at such an angle whereby to form with the open end of the tunnel an angularly graduated opening for the flow of the air blast, a series of pipes extending between the said end plate and the end of the tunnel for feeding spraying material into saiclair blast, and a series of narrow curved fins positioned in iongitudinally spaced relation across said opening and substantially at the peripheral longitudinal extension of said air tunnel for imparting additional direction to said air blast.

GEORGE W. DAUGHERTY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references-are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Date Number Name 2,054,272 Stouder Sept. 15, 1936 1,211,900 Van Zile et al Jan. 9, 1917 1,543,760 Fandrey June 30, 1925 755,199 Wellman Mar. 22, 1904 2,237,497 Munford Jan. 27, 1942 2,271,342 Korts Jan, 27, 1942 2,058,723 Rosenfeld Oct. 27, 1936 2,265,252 Schaefer Dec, 9, 1941 Daugherty Sept. 19,1944 

